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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1451.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2337 Vol. LXIV. FRIDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 1953 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE. STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry S210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, lliffe, Manchester, Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £3 3s. Od. U.S.A. and Canada, $10.00. BY AIR: To Canada and U.S.A., six months, $16. IN THIS ISSUE : Scandinavia by Eagle - 609 Thoughts on the F-100- 612 A National Museum of Aircraft? ... - 615 Comets in the Commons 616 3-D Aviation - - - - 617 NATO Bares Its Teeth 621 Instrument-approach Research - - - - 623 Training the Airline Pilot 624 Relentless Progress F IVE or six years ago die country's main defence effort in the air was devoted to the design and production of fighters. As a result of cut-backs and some indecision regarding orders and prototypes diere were delays. In retrospect it is clear that much more could, and should, have been done to speed up development and expedite deliveries—and tliat money and effort might have been saved at the same time. That the accent has recently shifted to the V-bombers, although the talk is still of defence, should not be regarded as a sign of vaccillation but rather of a healthy flexibility which permits planning to be fairly closely phased widi changing conditions and circum stances. The present state and immediate future of the fighter defences are also more satisfactory than at any time since the war. There is nothing new about offensive defence. In his latest volume of The Second World War, Mr. Churchill makes it clear in regard to the German V.l and V.2 weapons that to bomb their launching-sites and supply lines was die only real answer. Certainly fighters cannot alone win a war, although one of their purposes is to clear die skies of the enemy and to make easier die job of die jet bomber which today is capable of winning a major war of the type we are seeking to avoid. Coupled with the increasing importance of die V-bombers, all three of which are ordered in numbers (and at least one in large numbers, we believe) is tiiat of their weapons, atomic and otherwise. We hope diat die security cloak is hiding good progress—par ticularly in die electronics. In spite of die improvements in day and night fighter equipment and other forms of home defence, and in spite also of die conclusions attributed to senior officers following some of the defence exercises, we cannot yet be sure of stopping anything like die per centage of hostile jet bombers diat it would be necessary to stop if the country is to be regarded as safe from heavy or repeated air attacks. It is for diis reason more than any other diat the country is depending to an increasing extent upon the threat of immediate and appalling reprisals to prevent attack radier than upon close-in defences to "cure" it. Fortunately there is good cause to believe that British jet bombers and American ones such as the B-47 and B-52 would prove extremely difficult to intercept. We must add that to expect immunity from air attack in the event of anodier war would, in our opinion, be wildly optimistic. Recently die American public has been made conscious of the grim possibilities and, according to reports, diere has been considerable activity in civil defence circles. We have not, however, noticed any particular awareness or preparedness in this country, nor to our knowledge have die public been given up-to-date information or practical advice. Super Sabre An important preliminary appraisal of an outstanding American aircraft, printed on pages 612-614 of this issue, demands additional comment on fighter defences in spite of die preceding remarks. We refer to the F-100 or Super Sabre, first of the "level sonics" which, vis-a-vis production, is only a mondi or two behind our own Swift and Hunter. Its predecessor, the Sabre, is still the best jet fighter in service in die world, widi die Russian Mig-15 a good second in performance. Early in die new year production Swifts and Hunters will be in service, and diey will tiien represent a considerable advance over tie battle-proved Sabre. But we must add that North American, the makers of the F-100, believe this, their latest product, to mark the greatest step forward that diey have ever achieved, even diough die one previous is die Sabre. We may be sure tiiat the Russians, too, have not been letting grass grow under tiieir jet-pipes since they put the Mig-15 into production four or five years ago. Thus the successors to the Swift and Hunter ought already to be well on die way. And die time has come when all future fighters (other tiian light intercepted) should be designed for all-weather operation. Without underestimating die problems, or die costs of rapid development and large- scale production, we would once again associate ourselves with Lord Trenchard's remarks which he himself repeated in die recent Lords' debate: 'There is a need to quicken the production of aircraft ... die time between die designs coming off the drawing board and the aircraft reaching the squadrons could be reduced."
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